Gas-powered vehicles are slowly being replaced by vehicles that are partially or wholly electrically powered. Typically gas-powered vehicles have an internal combustion engine (ICE), a firewall, and a bulky HVAC unit in the front of the vehicle. An HVAC unit typically includes a heater core, fans, controls, and bulky air flow ducts. A bulky HVAC unit typically is situated in the interior of the vehicle with many of the HVAC unit components under the dashboard. This results in a dashboard that extends into the interior of the passenger compartment of the vehicle taking room away from interior of the vehicle.
Additionally, having the HVAC unit inside the interior of the vehicle limits the design choices for a dashboard i.e., the dashboard needs to surround the necessary mechanical components of the HVAC unit.